Chapter 5 - The Secret Dominic Kept
At dawn, Bee stood inside an abandoned bank vault beneath a closed accounting office on the North Side.
The brass key fit a small deposit box marked 417.
Inside lay a photograph, a black notebook, and a sealed envelope bearing her mother's handwriting.
Bee opened the envelope first.
My darling Beatrice,
If you're reading this, the Rossi family has finally found the courage to tell you what I spent twenty years trying to hide.
Your father loved you more than his life. He left the criminal world because he wanted you to grow up without fear, without blood on your hands, and without owing anything to men who confuse loyalty with obedience.
But he made one terrible mistake.
He trusted Dominic Rossi's father.
Bee stopped reading.
Her mother's letter explained that Michael Gallagher had discovered a plan to sell the Rossi shipping network to an international crime syndicate. Dominic's father had wanted to expose the traitors, but someone leaked the investigation before he could act.
Michael staged his disappearance to protect Bee and her mother.
He left behind a financial ledger capable of proving who had orchestrated the conspiracy.
The ledger had been divided into three pieces.
One was hidden in the deposit box.
Another was entrusted to Isabella.
The third had been placed somewhere only Dominic could find.
Bee opened the black notebook.
Names and coded transactions filled the pages. She recognized Lorenzo Costa's family company, two judges, a city councilman, and the security contractor responsible for protecting Dominic's convoy.
The final page contained a handwritten message.
THE HEIR IS NOT THE SON WHO INHERITS THE NAME. IT IS THE DAUGHTER WHO KNOWS WHEN TO WALK AWAY.
Bee read it three times.
Then her phone rang.
A video appeared on the screen.
Dominic was kneeling in a dimly lit room, his wrists tied behind his back. Blood darkened his shirt, and a man stood behind him with a pistol pressed against his head.
Lorenzo stepped into view.
"Hello, Beatrice. I believe we have something that belongs to you."
He lifted Dominic's chin.
"Bring me your father's ledger before midnight, or the man you love dies."
Bee's breath caught at the last three words.
Lorenzo smiled.
"And don't worry about the money. I already know where you hid it."
The video ended.
A second message appeared.
A photograph of Isabella's house.
The windows were shattered.
May you like
And across the front door, written in fresh red paint, were six words.
YOUR MOTHER'S PROTECTION HAS EXPIRED.
